As a homeschooling parent, one of the things I most have to keep in check is my tendency to bombard my children with too much information. When you homeschool your punks, you realize early on that you are solely responsible for everything your children will learn, and besides the three R’s, you start to find all these ancillary subjects—Latin, Archaeology, Underwater Basketweaving, Macrame. You start to convince yourself that your kids won’t be intellectually whole if they don’t learn everything there is to learn.

The danger here, of course, is that you’ll expose your children to a whole slew of topics, but never actually delve deeply into each one. The learn a little about a lot, but not a lot about anything.

And all I have to say is this: Guilty as charged.

The good thing is, my kids are still young, and I think it’s good during the early years of their education (K through 3rd grade) to give them little tasters of a variety of subjects. Then, for the subject they seem particularly interested in, we can find more in-depth material at the library, in encyclopedias, or—gulp—even online.

Here’s an example of my scratching the surface of a subject:

I found these flash cards the other day, and I instantly snatched them up.

They’re American Sign Language cards, and teach some of the basics of sign language, which, by the way, is the FOURTH most commonly spoken language in the United States. Did you know that?

I’ve always been interested in learning sign language, and I thought these would be a great way to introduce the concept to my punks.

There’s one card for each letter in the alphabet:

Here’s A.

Here’s the flip side of the A card.

B.

C.

D.

And so on.

There are also a few cards that show some basic words with their corresponding sign:

Here’s the kicker: these flash cards were $2.99 at Staples. If I’d scoured the internet to try to find an exhaustive volume on American Sign Language—particularly one appropriate for younger humans—I would have been hard pressed to find something for less than $20. This way, though the cards don’t move too far beyond the basics, they’re a great starting point and can lay a pretty good foundation for learning more later.

I just have to remember to learn more later. Sometimes I scratch the surface of a topic, the kids show interest, then we get busy doing other things and forget to go back and learn more.

I need Post-its on my forehead.

______________________

These Sign Language Flash Cards are manufactured by Trend Enterprises, who makes a huge line of awesome flash cards covering any number of topics: addition, subtraction, opposites, presidents, rhyming, transportation, money, telling time, etc.

They can be ordered directly from the website, or can be found at Staples or other retailers.

I also picked up a Presidents set, and was impressed that Barack Obama had already made it into the deck. I just love stores that ensure their inventory is up-to-date. I would’ve been depressed if I’d opened up the box and found Jimmy Carter was at the top of the stack.

219 Comments

My daughter had a teacher in first grade who taught them sign language, and she still remembers some to this day! (She’s 14 now). I think it’s great.

3

Kendra On Friday, January 30 at 9:03 am

These flash cards are great. Many kids learn a little sign language in school, but usually just the alphabet and then they only learn to make the signs but not to understand them when someone else is speaking to them, so seeing them that way is very helpful. I know this from experience, my sister has been a sign language interpreter for 20 years and I still have no idea what she is saying when she signs to me, I need those flashcards! She is hearing so it’s not a necessity but out of habit she signs while she is talking and I should really know how to say a little to our deaf friends without making her interpret all the time. Thanks for the info–really helpful!

Amy On Friday, January 30 at 9:06 am

those are great flash cards. I will pick them up. they will be great for my son who is 23 months but doesn’t expressive himself too well. He is in early intervention and we are trying signing with him and I thinks these cards will help a lot! Thanks Ree!

I can’t believe that Obama is already in them! Not many things are that up to date! I loved doing the sign language with my daughter when my boys were young. They learned the alphebet in sign language as they were learning their ABC’s for the first time. I also decided that as they learned to talk, I would learn the signs to each new word they learned, that way, I’d learn to sign all the words without having to sit down and do it the hard way. Well, I have to say, I failed. The twins started talking faster than I could keep up and their being boys and unscrewing door hinges and all by the time they were two, I figured I’d give up, I have life saving things to worry about…like screwing hinges back in so tight that they wouldn’t be able to unscrew them!

I always have good ideas in the beginning, why can’t I follow through?

Those are really cool. We have used several books and enjoyed learning little bits here and there.

My daughter’s piano teacher is from Ukraine. She has a 2-year-old little boy. They only speak Russian at home, so that is all he speaks. He was teaching my son words the other day. Now I’m going to have to learn/teach some Russian!

Erin On Friday, January 30 at 9:21 am

I learned the ASL alphabet along with the typical beginning reading stuff in my first grade public school class. I still remember all of them! I can’t say it’s come in handy in many situations, but I think it did affect my ability to spell. I still sometimes find myself finger-spelling my thoughts! That may not be a good thing…

19

Nancy On Friday, January 30 at 9:23 am

My friends and I all learned sign language in high school, so when were in study hall, and you were not allowed to talk, we did sign language across the room to each other…oh how the teachers hated us. Resourseful, I think.

20

Teslaca On Friday, January 30 at 9:23 am

I feel I am such a slacker parent. I have always had more of a laid-back attitude…but dangit, my oldest is in K and I havnt helped him with any of his homework. None. Of. It. What’s up with homework in K anyways?

Anyhoo, I guess it’ll be flashcards this summer for when he enters 1st grade. Flashcards for numbers and spelling and anything else I find.

We started teaching my daughter ASL when she was 19 months, at her pediatrician’s suggestion. We started out with the Signing Time videos (www.signingtime.com). At the time, they were intended for the infant-preschool crowd. They now have videos intended for older children. I really like them, because they show a child using the signs as well as an adult showing proper form.

We do use sign in our everyday lives. Guess what our most often used signs are? They are “yes”, “no”, and “potty”. Rarely do we spell words, other than names.

Amber On Friday, January 30 at 9:32 am

What a cool find! I’m fluent in ASL, though I didn’t start learning it until my high school years. ASL is one of those things where you learn it by HAVING to use it, or so has been my experience. I have several books, which I use as reference when I need them, but I have found the ASL broswer (http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/aslweb/browser.htm) to be a huge help. Sometimes the pictures in the book don’t adequately convey the motion that needs to be done and that’s when seeing the short video clips of the sign really comes in handy. The browser isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it is pretty extensive and would help a great deal with everyday words, and even conversational skills.

25

Gee On Friday, January 30 at 9:37 am

GREAT! I would love a set of each; as a former teacher, my love for flash cards has never diminished! Good for you for finding these, Ms. Ree the teacher.

Have you ever seen the kids series “Signing Time?” It airs on PBA, but it also has a website, http://www.signingtime.com (we TIVO the episodes, but they are also available on DVD). The founder of the show, Rachel Coleman is awesome (ALWAYS positive and perky) and she has an amazing story–both of her daughters require sign to communicate.

The episodes are themed, which is great because I have learned that signs are easier to learn when grouped together and used in context. The shows are geared for young children, but I find them completely addictive!

My oldest daughter, Rhian is hearing impaired, so that is what initally drew me to the show, but my younger daughters LOVE IT! They often sing the theme song, “Its signing time with Alex and Leah…come and play…”

I tought my now 2yr. old some of the basic signs when she was a wee lad. ie. milk, more, eat, water, all done, rain, thunder… she got it around 11 months and to this day she’ll sign something, along with saying it. So funny. Now I’ve been teaching my 10 month old son, but he seems to care less. Typical male, he knows his momma is going to do it for him.

I wanted and tried to take sign lang. in college as my foreign language and was told no. I thought that was wrong. It should have counted. I think this is a great idea for your kids.

After having gone through five (yes, five) majors in college before finally settling on one and graduating, I’ve been recommending this same approach to incoming freshmen Learn the basics of EVERYTHING you might be interested in, then you can declare a major and run with it with confidence.

In your case, I can see how your punks will be totally prepared for picking some awesome courses in Jr. High or High School.

We started our kiddos signing when they were babies, before they could talk. My now 21 month old has at least as many signs as he has words. It cuts down on the frustration level immensely. We just continue to add signs and my 5 yeal old loves to learn new ones and teach them to her brother. I keep the sign languae dictionary on the kitchen counter since she is always wanting to know what the signs for things are…it is quite fun. Hubby even is known to take a peek sometimes. What is weird is the one thing we haven’t learned is the alphabet! Great flashcards…I’ll pick up some next time at Staples. Kim

wonderful to take the time to teach the kids sign language. Not enough people bother to try – I know I haven’t. When my girls where younger one of them found a book on sign language and wanted it and we processed the information for awhile but none of us lasted very long at it –my kids weren’t home schooled — this was just something that was interesting to them. If you can stick with it I think it is great and will someday possibly be of some use to them.
Karenhttp://karensquilting.com/blog/

I don’t know if I’ll end up “overteaching”, but I certainly have proven my ability to “overpurchase” materials with homeschooling! And my oldest homeschooler (not Kid) is only 5!! $2.99 is a price I don’t have to feel guilty about…

40

Kim R On Friday, January 30 at 10:00 am

When I was in 6th grade the lunch monitors wouldn’t let us talk after lunch. You know, it was too loud, blah, blah. So we taought ourselves the sign language alphabet. That was the best thing we did. Maybe this was the best thing you did. When it gets too rowdy around your house, tell them to use sign language!

Oh, I LIKE those! The clear photographs are nice, and easy to understand. I’m going to have to snatch up some of those… Staples, here I come!

I once read in a book a line that described me quite well (and describes the issue you’re having with scratching the surface of subjects) – “A jack-of-all trades, but a master of none.” I want to know about a lot of different things, and I figure at some point I’ll care enough to become an expert in something. I switched majors 7 times in college, and finally settled on a degree in philosophy, but that’s because I did all my dabbling at the university. Your kids are getting to dabble right now while they homeschool, and hopefully will find a focus by the time they head off for “higher learning”. Or not, but at least you’re having fun.

We’ve used the “Signing Time!” DVDs for sign language- the kids love them, and we’ve learned a lot! My friend has used them for her son and herself, because her in-laws are deaf and use sign language. She says the videos were indispensable for their family. I’ll tell her about these flash cards!

43

Ann On Friday, January 30 at 10:07 am

When I was in 7th grade in late 1970 something, instead of passing notes, which could be confiscated, my best friend and I spelled things back and forth to each other. I think it was an early form of texting. I always wanted to learn more than the alphabet but I never did.

Trish On Friday, January 30 at 10:08 am

My son learned a few “signs” at public school. He was excited to show me the one for love. He is almost 22 now and he still uses that sign when he knows I can only see him. I use it back. He is my only child and my favorite person on ths planet

46

Julie On Friday, January 30 at 10:11 am

My husband was raised with wolves. No. Really, but he was raised with a deaf child, and he speaks fluent sign language. It’s so cool. I speak little sign language (I sign that alot when I’m with the deaf.) When we visit his cousin’s deaf church, it’s tooooo coooool! All the worship, testimonys, service is all in sign. The whole congregation is deaf. They put the service on an overhead in case someone visiting is hearing. The Sunday school classes are taught in ASL by speaking teachers so the hearing adults and children can participate. We take our kids there once in a while to expand their world.

BTW, I homeschooled my kids and they both took a couple semesters of sign language. Then one of my son’s friends got spinal meningitis and lost his hearing at age 6. Communication became very real to the kids at that time.

I used to think people that homeschooled their kids were crazies that wore only long dresses and had long braided hair down to their waist and lived in the boonies.

Now I think I would like to do that too when I have my own little punks, as I think I can teach them more interested topics and more variety and have more fun than they would in regular school spending the first 4 months out of the year just studying how to take the state standarized test.

We have both the sign language set and the Presidents set-I picked up the presidents one at our local Costco for like $6.99.We also got a set about famous painters,but my kids got stuck on Van Gogh and his whole chopped off my ear as a romantic gesture.LOL Gotta love cheap education,though!

Vanessa On Friday, January 30 at 10:31 am

i was very excited to see the ASL cards on your blog. My son is hearing impaired and developmentally delayed so we use a TON of sign to implement his speech therapy. he is 5 years old, knows the alphabet and about 80 signs in ASL. he may not be able to perform them all properly, but he knows what they mean.

we recommend to everyone, hearing or not, the signing time videos too. they are awesome. sometimes you can find a few in the library. anything where i get my son to have education while watching tv is great!

Janice On Friday, January 30 at 10:46 am

Misty On Friday, January 30 at 10:49 am

I do not homeschool my child, he’s only three, but I wouldn’t choose to homeschool. 1. I don’t have the patience. But, I do teach him things in addition to what he learns at preschool. I will continue to do that.

I believe that children should be challenged, and that giving them tasters until they find what they are really interested in is perfectly ok.

I started when my son was born doing sign language. I read that children can pick up sign language at a much eralier age than speaking, and in his case it was true. He would try to mimic the signs before he said dadaa. he is three now, and speaks VERRY WELL! But I have continued with the sign language, and its nice to know that we have this special language that most people do not understand, that I taught him.

62

Ernestine On Friday, January 30 at 10:51 am

Those are wonderful. My daughter just told me yesterday that she wanted to teach herself and her daughter sign language. There is a Staples just down the street. Going to go snatch those up.! Thanks.

I’ve never thought of something like this. It sounds like such a good idea. On a side note I love Staples…the nearest one to me is about 45min away so I usually have to have a pretty good excuse to go there. lol.

64

AJ On Friday, January 30 at 10:55 am

I did not realize that there were flash cards for sign language….where have I been?

My mother was born deaf and does more lip reading than sign language, but I do know some sign language. My daughter goes to public schools and is in the 1st grade. She came home and started doing the alphabet in sign language. It really made me proud that they were being taught this in school….and of course, made her Mimi proud. Then, my daughter comes home the other day and recits MLK’s “I have a dream that one day my four children….” and I was amazed that she knew that. Then, to my surprise…she did it in sign language. Talk about making a mother proud! I am going after work to buy those cards…for me! I’ve got to keep up with my 6 year old!

65

Christina On Friday, January 30 at 10:56 am

On the ASL train with ya…. I tought my kids as they were BABIES so I didnt have to deal with whining…. Not that it worked, but at least they whined and said please and thank you and food and more and all done and my personal favorite,…. poop….. A great resource I have found is a Sign Language dictionary. We have been able to look up words that we are interested in as we go. My three year old learned to say pop corn so if we ever wander into a movie theatre, he can ask for some without interrupting the other movies goers. (No we never go the the theatre, but it is fund to say) and the baby learned to say help because I was tired of hearing uunhhh uuuhhh uhhh…. Now he says uhhhh while signing “Help me moma, I am just a baby!”

66

Rhonda in Oklahoma On Friday, January 30 at 10:56 am

Ree, these look really interesting. We enjoyed learning sign language in our early years of home schooling. But we did kind of like you described – scratched the surface, but never really got into it in-depth. But also like you say, these basic things lay a good foundation to be able to go back later and build on that.

67

kym b On Friday, January 30 at 10:56 am

Heading to Staples this weekend, thank much.

I have a cousin who is deaf so I know some basics, but these will be great for the kids.

I want that president deck as well, I could use that one myself LOL

68

Beth in California On Friday, January 30 at 10:57 am

My three youngest kids (6, 5 and 3) all knew the sign language alphabet by the time they were 2 years old. They love spelling words in sign language!

Viking Mom On Friday, January 30 at 11:05 am

Guilty as charge as well. I have to remember to take things in baby steps for my kids as well. When I taught I had about 8 months to cram a years worth of information into my student’s heads. Now, as a home school teacher I have the luxury to take time and make sure MY kiddos grasp the concepts.
We taught our two kiddos sign language early for a couple of reasons. 1. I am hard of hearing. 2. I have family that are deaf or are hard of hearing–or have a serious case of selective hearing. 3. It’s great to give instructions to my husband and kiddos in a crowded room/store and not have to shout. Sign language is communicated largely threw body language. It encourages the person to pay attention to body language, eye placement and details.
It’s an awesome language! It’s also accepted as a foreign language in high schools and colleges. Hint Hint!!

71

Janine On Friday, January 30 at 11:10 am

I’ve been doing sign language with my 18 month old daughter since she was born. She knows 15-20 words. Wow, does it help with tantrums, she really hasn’t had one. She can tell me if she wants milk, or a cookie.. or if she’s just plain tired and wants to go to be 1/2 hour early, which she did last night. She could have screamed and cried but instead she told me she wanted to go to bed. We had a peaceful night instead of a frustrating one.

Signing early on with my toddlers was the best decision I ever made…I only taught them about 5 words, but it enabled them to communicate with out screaming and when they tried…..they had to sign to get what they wanted.

Just found out you did Classical Conversations last year….too fun. I direct a program in NC.

73

Saleta On Friday, January 30 at 11:14 am

As someone who (although I’m not Deaf) is actively involved in the local Deaf community and currently working on my Texas state licensure for ASL interpreting, I have to say that these are a great idea. I think it’s wonderful that you are teaching your punks such a wide variety of material at such a young age, especially when that includes something like ASL.

I hope they enjoy it as much as I do. I was always told that I have piano fingers (lonnnng skinny fingers), but seeing as how I never figured out how to read music, I wanted to do something else positive with my hands. So, I started signing and I’ve loved every minute of it.

I’ve got lots of ASL flashcards and even a couple of ASL word search and puzzle games if you want copies of them. Also, this is a great website for ASL learning.

Shawna On Friday, January 30 at 11:16 am

I might pick these cards up one of these days. But really like the idea of the presidents cards. What a great way to learn something that can be so overwhelming. Now they will have a face to go with the name.

I can identify. I have always been very flitty and like jumping from the surface of one subject to another, to another, without getting any deeper into it. I’d say one out of every dozen things I touch on, do I actually explore…. I have a feeling that when I start homeschooling my son next year, we’ll do that a lot.

My youngest saw a speech therapist for about a year. We used ASL to get her to start communicating with us. We still use some of the signs even though she talks quite well. Mostly, I use the “please” and “thank you” signs to silently remind her of her manners. When she throws a tantrum (she’s almost 3), I use the “I want” sign and it helps calm her down. Silent gestures are great tantrum enders.

78

Kate On Friday, January 30 at 11:22 am

Once again, Ree, THANK YOU! For whatever reason, ASL is a huge topic of interest for our patrons (homeschooling and non-homeschooling alike). I’m going to purchase these cards and hope people don’t steal them. People tend to check out our sign language materials from our library and decide NOT return them. Boo on them. Thanks again!

We recently had a deaf girl join our homeschool co-op and her mom signed all the time during the activities. Two of my four boys were priviledged to be in her class and picked up a bit of sign language. The family had to move to another area, but I would love to keep going with the basic alphabet. This is great!

80

Sandie On Friday, January 30 at 11:26 am

Oh wow. I learned the basic’s in sign language when I was about 12 or so. I haven’t thought about it for many years, but seeing those cards brought it all back.

81

Carol On Friday, January 30 at 11:27 am

We started ASL with our kids when they were about 5 months old and between 6-7 months, they were signing back some! It was terrific for that age when they know what they want just not how to get it across with verbal language. We never went through a whiney, frustrated period with our kids because they had a way to communicate their wants and some needs. The best part is when they would make up their own and we actually got it!

82

Mary On Friday, January 30 at 11:27 am

I always wondered if it would work if everyone in the world learned sign language, couldn’t it then be the universal way to communicate? No matter where you go? Just ordered 5 sets of cards- thanks for the tip!

83

Michelle E On Friday, January 30 at 11:28 am

Thanks for the flash card info! I love flash cards, you can take tehm anywhere and they usually are not too expensive.

I love sign language, I’ve studied it for years and I try to make my kids learn it too. If your kids take an interest then the Signing Time videos are AWESOME. In most states they are also showing the Signing Time shows on Public Televisions stations like UEN and PBS.

Those are amazing. I am going out today. Looks like I will be hitting the Staples.

87

Hollie from Nanook On Friday, January 30 at 11:45 am

As a Deaf person, I think it is just absolutely wonderful that you are introducing sign language to your children. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve encountered parents with their children in the store where they say “Excuse me, my daughter is learning sign language at school and she was wondering if she could talk to you?” Of course, I always spend a minute or two signing/fingerspelling with the child and they leave with a huge grin on their faces. Just priceless!!

Keep it up, Ree!

88

Kathy On Friday, January 30 at 11:48 am

HEY!! I just had a thought! If someone were to know sign language, couldn’t they say they are bilingual? So, if we all learned sign language, then we could all speak the same language. Right? And if we CAN say we’re bilingual, we can get jobs that require us to know a second language. Right?

Well, after nineteen+ years homeschooling, I’ve gotten to the point where we do readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic. Hopefully they’ll catch some of the archeology and such by unschooling. We have occassionally delved into sign language, when a kid takes an interest in it for some reason. They can at least spell their names. This came in handy last year when I baked in a cafe for a short time with a chef. who was deaf. My kids got to use their minute amount of sign language and the chef loved it.

Sometime when you do another “Ask Pioneer Woman” Ree, or if you would rather, in this forum, I’d love to hear how you went from city girl-sushi eater to homeschooler. What motivated you and MM to homeschool? To take on that long-term task. You seem to have lots of enthusiasm.

90

Cynthia On Friday, January 30 at 11:59 am

What a great idea. I think sign language is something everyone should know. Although all I know is the alphabet and I’m starting to forget some of the letters. As a child I was fascinated with the language and my parents had those huge encyclopedia sets and I would sit and look through them (yes I know, total nerd!). But I learned the capitols of all the states and I learned some sign language. I may have to invest the $3 for this set of flash cards for my little guy. I’m sure he’d love them.

Brenda V. On Friday, January 30 at 12:11 pm

My son graduated from high school this last year, so no homeschooling. i do have friends who do homeschool.

Anyway, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned on this topic, but possibly elsewhere, is talk to your librarian. Most libraries love it when patrons put in a request for books/videos/etc. This way you can try out the DVDs before you buy them. Plus when yours are all done using them you can then donate them to the library for further use. I think then you also get a tax deduction for that donation, but I’m not a CPA, nor do I play one on TV.

Sounds like you’re doing a great job!

94

farmwifetwo On Friday, January 30 at 12:25 pm

When my little one was taught to communicate we started with sign.

There is a signlanguage book put out by Scholastic books.

There is also a site online where you can type in a word and watch it signed.

I no longer have either… he speaks now enough that he doesn’t require signs… I purged all things ABA when I kicked out the therapists.

Already having a background with American Sign Lang.
I love the way these look and the price. Calling my Mom
in Fargo to pick these babies up at Staples before she
comes down to make Home Made Chicken soup.
She is picking up Sushi and Sake also…

Very Cool..I teach ASL as a foreign language at a high school in Texas. Great that you are teaching your punks!
the website http://www.aslpro.com is a great site to use and the more it gets used the more support they get! So go for it!

100

Anonymous On Friday, January 30 at 12:44 pm

So glad you are all learning to sign!!! :o) Check outhttp://signingtime.com All of your kids will love these videos, and Wetsy can get Baby Signingtime for the little guy.